Mother Of Children Who Died In Chattanooga Bus Crash Claims Driver Had A Drinking Problem

Five children died and over 20 others were injured in the crash on Monday (Nov. 21).

Several parents of children involved in the Chattanooga bus crash Monday (Nov. 21) voiced their opinions about the driver and suspect behind the incident that killed five children and injured several others.

CNNreports the incident happened Monday afternoon when Johnthony Walker picked up 37 students from Woodmore Elementary School to take home. Police believe speed played a factor in the crash when the bus wrapped around a tree, flipped and split in half just one mile away from the school. Five children were pronounced dead and six others are currently in intensive care. The victims were four girls and one boy ranging from kindergarten to the fourth grade.

Walker was arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide, with one count of reckless endangerment and reckless driving. A few parents of the children spoke about the 24-year-old and how their concerns were never taken to account by Walker's employer or school board. Speaking to Good Morning Americaon Tuesday (Nov. 22) Craig Harris says he noticed on different accounts Walker driving faster than normal. "That's the reason why I tried to be there in the mornings when he's pulling up," Harris said. "And also in the evenings, because some days he would come up the street and drop them off, some days he would go down the street and drop them off, and I'm not a bus driver, so I'm not sure what their protocol is, but I kind of figured that wasn't something he was supposed to be doing." His children and niece were injured in the crash but are doing better.

Jasmine Mateeen, a mother of three who lost one of her daughters in the accident said Walker had a drinking problem. In the past, she has sent letters and complained to school officials about Walker's behavior towards the children. She also claims her children told her Walker said, 'Are y’all ready to die' shortly before the wreck. “My daughter said right before the bus flipped that he was speeding around the curve and asked them ‘Are y’all ready to die,’” Mateen said to CBS News.I called the board of education, I wrote the school, went up to the school and wrote a letter to the bus driver [too] and nothing happened.'

Walker's employer, Durham School Services, released a statement on their site about the incident."Our entire team at Durham School Services is devastated by the accident yesterday that tragically claimed the lives of Chattanooga students. We are working with Chattanooga Police Department and Hamilton County School District to investigate."

Police plan on speaking with the children and looking at the recovered black box recording and video footage from the bus. Walker could face more charges as the investigation continues.

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The migration of popular mixtapes from today's top rappers to streaming platforms has left room for error for those who produced the music we adore. This seems to be the case for Joey Bada$$, who has been accused of failing to pay for productions services by Chicago's brandUn DeShay.

DeShay, who also goes by the music alias of Ace Hashimoto, took to Reddit Wednesday (March 20) to share the lack of communication he's had with the Brooklyn's rapper camp over unpaid services. The songs in question are "School High" and "Last Cypher," tracks that were included on Pro Era's breakout compilation mixtape, Peep the Aprocalpyse. Originally released in 2012, the project featured members of the popular posse like Nyck Caution, Kirk Knight and the late Capital STEEZ.

Posted on the Hip Hop Heads channel, DeShay acknowledges the beats were free considering they were on free projects. With the move to platforms like Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music, the producer explained how he wasn't contacted for clearances or payment.

"I never asked for bread because technically no one was getting paid," he said. "Until recently (December 12/23/18) Joey re-released the PEEP the Aprocalypse mixtape on all streaming platforms. Therefore generating bread off streams and DID NOT ask my permission, did not do splits or even work out a deal to just buy my share of the publishing from me."

"I hate takin s**t like this public cuz usually I think that s**t is corny asf," he added. "But I'm still tryna avoid taking this to court to retrieve the [payment]. I hope Joey reaches back so we can figure this out... the "producer x rapper" relationship in Hip-Hop deserves some success stories."

Prior to his Reddit post, DeShay posted his frustrations on Twitter back in February.

No word from @joeyBADASS yet...

but i heard he got a new Pro Era LP otw, so hopefully i hear back before i hear that lol 😂😂😂

— Ace Hashimoto ✖️ エース (@acehashimoto) February 22, 2019

VIBE reached out to DeShay who declined to provide a statement on the matter. We also reached out to Joey, who hasn't responded at the time of the DeShay, who was also an original member of Odd Future, has produced the early projects of numerous acts like SZA, Chance The Rapper and Curren$y.

DeShay went on to share how he had a proper business dealing with the late Mac Miller when it came to his debut mixtape, Macadelic.

"He contacted me first about “Aliens Fighting Robots” and sent me paperwork!!!," he said. "We agreed on a price, permissions, splits and that was it. Everyone went home happy and you can now stream Macadelic on Spotify rn. Mac Miller handled his business properly. Be like Mac Miller."

Like DeShay previously stated, the relationship between rappers and producers has always been rooted in miscommunications and questionable deals. Producers like Kenny Beats and Bangladesh have expressed their frustrations over unpaid beats, specifically Bangladesh when it comes to his work with Lil Wayne. With music streaming becoming a profitable tool for all aspects of song creation, the relationship should be mended sooner than later.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Wednesday (March 20) the nation would no longer sell semi-automatic guns and riffles. The sweeping legislation went into effect one week after an Australian man opened fire and killed 50 Muslim men, women and children.

"Today I am announcing that New Zealand will ban all military-style semi-automatic weapons. We will also ban all assault rifles," Ardern said at a press conference.

Prime Minister Arden said the new law would take effect Wednesday (March 20) at 3 PM local time and said dealers "should now cease" selling the guns.

"We will ban all high-capacity magazines. We will ban all parts with the ability to convert semi-automatic or any other type of firearm into a military-style semi-automatic weapon. We will ban parts that cause a firearm to generate semi-automatic, automatic or close to automatic gunfire," she continued.

The prime suspect in the attack reportedly obtained a gun license in 2017 and began purchasing more guns in the most following.

"This is just the beginning of the work we need to do," Ardern said.

The prime minister also noted that there are many in New Zealand who obtained their weapons legally and haven't used them for violence. She said a buyback program will be implemented at local police stations ensuring gun owners receive proper compensation for their weapon. Penalties will be put in place for those who don't participate.

The program may cost between $100 million and $200 million, but Prime Minister Arden says it's necessary "to ensure the safety of our communities."

Kevin Hart's latest comedy special, Kevin Hart: Irresponsible, is set to stream on Netflix for all to see. The one-hour stand-up, which was filmed before 15,000 people at the O2 Arena in London, England, will be Hart's fifth comedy special to hit the streaming site.

Piggybacking off of the recent scandals and mayhem, this special will focus on the 39-year-old's friends, family, travel, and a year full of antics that made him "irresponsible."

The stand-up's taping derives from his most recent tour through North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia which kicked off in March 2018, according to Rolling Stone. The special will be available on Netflix on April 2.

The last time Hart was a trending topic was for past tweets that were deemed homophobic and resulted in him canceling his hosting position at the Oscars. Maybe his content will include this unfortunate situation.